Sky has today announced plans to launch a new mobile service in 2016, partnering up with O2 for the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) venture. The deal will enable Sky to offer 2G, 3G and 4G services to its customer base, placing the company in a strengthened position against rivals.

Update: Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa has officially confirmed that the company has entered into exclusive negotiations with Telefonica over a potential purchase of O2.

Three UK, announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Telefónica, S.A. over a period of several weeks for the potential acquisition of Telefónica, S.A.'s UK subsidiary, O2 UK, for an indicative price in cash of £9.25 billion which would be paid at closing, and deferred upside interest sharing payments of up to a further £1 billion in the aggregate payable after the cumulative cash flow of the combined businesses of Hutchison 3G UK Limited and O2 UK has reached an agreed threshold

Original story: We reported a few days ago that Three UK was looking to purchase O2 from Telefonica, and now the deal has reportedly been confirmed at a price of 10 billion pounds (roughly 15 billion US dollars) and is expected to be finalized Friday morning.

The company behind UK mobile operator Three, Hutchison Whampoa, is reportedly looking to purchase competitor O2, which is currently owned by Telefonica. The deal could be worth as much as $13.6 billion to Telefonica, who The Financial Times reports to have enlisted the aid of investment bank UBS to analyze available options, including partnership and flotation of the business.

According to reports, British Telecom is in early talks with Telefonica to purchase O2, the same mobile operator it released back in 2001. Not only has BT set its sights on O2, but the UK's largest network EE has also been offered in a separate deal.

O2 Germany is working on an app for Windows Phone to match the offerings on both iOS and Android, according to a leaked email. The My O2 app exists as a beta and is currently being tested by members of the team. As well as being able to relay news of the app being in development, we've also got a release window, which is expected to be November.

We covered news yesterday that O2 (Telefonica) and Nokia both announced the Lumia 1020, specifically the 64GB variant of the Windows Phone. Using The O2 Arena to house European journalists and show off exactly what's new in the latest product, it was an eventful day out across London with the ability to snap some shots and see what the Lumia 1020 can really do.

It’s been a busy day for the Nokia Lumia 1020 as that device’s global rollout is now kicking off. Earlier today, Nokia announced the device’s availability for the UK at the end of September and now the third party retailers are climbing over each other to offer the best deal.

Phones4U joins Clove UK in bringing the 32 GB version of the 41 MP Lumia 1020 to the UK this month. The Phones4U deal though is especially enticing as the device will be free on some limited contracts for EE, Vodafone and Orange. In addition, when you preorder from Phones4U, you will get £295 worth of “bonus” features including a camera accessory pack, a 6 months Netflix subscription, and a free wireless speaker. The phone ships on September 25.

Nokia and O2 (Telefonica) today announced the Lumia 1020 in the UK. Both companies utilised the O2 Arena in London, a fitting choice for the smartphone which enables owners to capture important moments in life, including entertainment and live music. O2 strives to continue being Microsoft's most important partner in the UK, offering multiple Windows Phones for consumers.

So what's new with the Lumia 1020 in the UK? You'll be able to get your hands on one from September 25th.

O2 has unveiled more details on its 4G LTE pricing. The company announced earlier this month that 4G will be launching at the end of August, and while some hints to pricing were provided, today we've got some idea as to how much you'll be looking to fork out each month to take advantage of the increased data speeds. Starting at £26 for SIM-only plans and £32 a month with a 4G handset, O2 is clearly looking to compete with EE.

UK mobile operator O2 has announced that the company will be launching its 4G mobile network on August 29th. The operator will snap up second place in the LTE race here in the UK, following EE's incredible lead to get established over its competitors. Initially available in London, Leeds and Bradford, O2 will be planning to extend the service to cover a further 10 cities by 2014.

This is the news many consumers have been waiting for. EE will now be challenged by O2 and competing networks as the likes of Vodafone and Three also hop on-board and launch their respective network upgrades. How much will you be looking to fork out for 4G on O2? The basic 4G tariff will be starting at £26 a month - though it's not yet known what the plan will include.

Android and iOS are so far ahead in the smartphone wars that at this point the biggest competitor for Windows Phone is BlackBerry. By some measures the battle for third place is already won by Windows Phone, but that doesn’t mean BlackBerry can’t fight back. Well the gap between BlackBerry and Windows Phone is about to get bigger. O2 Germany has just made the move to start pushing Windows Phone harder than ever.

While a few of you have lamented that the AT&T Nokia Lumia 1020 will reportedly come with only 32GB of internal storage (and nothing expandable), we now have evidence that a 64GB version of the device is planned for the market,

Unfortunately, it is exclusively destined for Telefónica (O2, Movistar and Vivo) in both their European and Latin American markets.

The device is slated to launch in September and will provide double the storage of the “standard” Nokia Lumia Eros...

Telefonica has announced a deal between Microsoft and its Spanish arm, Movistar. This partnership will enable consumers who use a Windows Phone on the network to pay for content on the Store with prepaid credit or a contract bill. The operator notes in a statement that this move will help reduce the number of steps required to make a purchase, providing an alternative to those who prefer going through their operator for billing.

Microsoft has struck a deal with Telefónica to start a joint marketing effort to boost the sales of Windows Phone 8 hardware. Initially for a period lasting a year, the company will enhance marketing activities in support of stocked Windows Phones in the UK and Germany through O2, as well as Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Telefónica wishes to help develop a strong third choice for consumers to break the duopoly of Android and iOS.

The Samsung ATIV S is heading to O2 UK, according to the coming soon section of the carrier's website. While no price or dates for availability are provided, it's good to see a UK operator step up and unveil Samsung's latest Windows Phone. Samsung has come under scrutiny by consumers who believe the manufacturer has done little for Windows Phone except release uninspired hardware.

It seems that Telefonica (the Spanish telecoms provider) are going into mobile billing in a big way. They have now set up agreements with Facebook, RIM, Google and Microsoft to enable Direct-To-Bill payments. I am pretty confident that not everyone has a credit card so the ability to buy apps and have the cost added to your mobile bill each month will be welcomed by many.

Telefonica have already started rolling out the service and hope to have it up and running in 14 of their operating countries by the end of this year.

"Mobile payments are an important part of the business model for mobile web developers, but today the options are too complicated for users," said Dan Rose, vice-president of Partnerships at Facebook.

"We're excited to be working with Telefónica to implement a streamlined operator billing solution that simplifies the purchase process for their consumers and expands pricing options for mobile web developers.”

Where this will come in handy for many Windows Phone users is with the billing agreement Telefonica have agreed with Microsoft. Direct-To-Bill will become the default payment option for customers purchasing from the Windows Marketplace.

Microsoft just announced that the Samsung Focus v1.4, always the redheaded step-child of the Windows Phone family, is finally getting its well deserved "Mango" update. Let us know in comments if you're seeing the update notification--it shouldn't be too much longer if not. In addition, Omnia 7 users on Telefonica Spain, the only other phone not to get Mango, is also now getting that update delivered too. Better late than never? Hopefully those users will finally be happy now, though we admit it's been a long wait.

Good news for the Omnia 7 and if all goes as planned, the update should start rolling out within the next few days (within 10 according to Microsoft). Unfortunately there is still no change with Telefonica and the Omnia 7. The Spanish carrier is still showing the Mango update in the testing phase.

All updates are now heading to Telefonica customers, this includes both NoDo and the recent security update. Orange UK Omnia 7 devices are scheduling and updates should begin rolling out again soon. I would write that there's still no news regarding Focus handsets but I don't think any of you expected anything new on that front. Keep an eye on the Mcirosoft updates page to see the status of your carrier/device.

Oh and we should mention that this finally actually completes the NoDo update for all (save a few Focus owners, of course). So while it took three months to complete the full roll out for every device, it's still faster than Android, relatively speaking. Having said that, let us hope for a faster turn around with "Mango".